Cyclone women face tough defense versus Jayhawks
January 10, 2001
Last season, the Iowa State ran rough-shot through the Big 12. By compiling a 13-3 record. The Cyclone women won a share of the Big 12 title — the first time in school history Iowa State had won it.But there were some bumps in the road; more like bumps and bruises. The Kansas Jayhawks swept two games from the Cyclones last season, winning in Ames, 79-71, and in Lawrence, 58-49.Kansas will be bringing its physical defense back to Ames, hoping to end the No. 7 Cyclones’ 10-game home winning streak.The Jayhawks are 6-6 this season, 0-1 in the Big 12. Kansas lost to Baylor 85-80.”[Kansas is] a team that really took it at us last year,” said ISU head coach Bill Fennelly. “We gotta be very well prepared to play ’em.”Last season, the Jayhawks were led by Brooke Reves and Jaclyn Johnson. Reves scored a game-high 24 points and had five assists in Ames to lead Kansas. Johnson led the way against the Cyclones in Lawrence with 18 points and 10 rebounds.”Those two are players who we gotta make sure don’t dictate how the game is played,” Fennelly said.In 12 games this season Johnson is averaging 17.3 points per contest and 8.3 boards. Last season, she was on the all-Conference team. Reves is second in scoring behind Johnson, with an average of 15.1 points per game and has a 7.4 rebounding average.”They’ve both played really well against us in the past,” Fennelly said.Iowa State is led in scoring by junior center Angie Welle. She has scored more than 17 points per game, and she leads the team in rebounds with 10.2 per game.The Cyclones are returning to Hilton, where they have not lost since Feb. 16 of last season to the Jayhawks.”We haven’t played a home game in a long time,” Fennelly said. “Kansas came in here and beat us last year, and we’re coming off a huge win. We’ve got so much to play for. I just hope we are ready to go.”The Cyclones are off to a 2-0 start in the Big 12 (11-1 overall) this year following victories at Kansas State and Oklahoma.Against Oklahoma, the Cyclones gave up an 18-point lead near the end of the game. Iowa State won on a buzzer-beating shot by senior guard Megan Taylor.”We were happy with the win,” sophomore guard Lindsey Wilson said, “but we weren’t happy with the way they came back.””That kind of game is good for TV I guess,” Fennelly said of the Oklahoma contest. “It’s not so good for my health.”Wilson said that she does not believe that giving up leads the way Iowa State did in Oklahoma will become a trend.”We’re used to being the team that goes on those type of runs,” she said.For the first time, Wilson will be starting against the Jayhawks’ pressure defense.”We’ve played against tough defenses before,” Wilson said. “When you play in the Big 12, you are used to tough defenses.”Wilson added that even though the Cyclones are “a different type of team” this year, it is “always in the back of your head” that Kansas won both games last season.”[We realize] they are a good team,” Wilson said, “and so are we.”The Jayhawks will take the court against Iowa State tonight at 7 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum.